Koizumi-san

Koizumi-san (小泉さん Koizumi-san?) is the main protagonist of the Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san series. In the manga, Koizumi-san is petite with red eyes and blonde hair (although more precisely, her hair color is more like kansui​, the ingredient that gives ramen its distinctive yellow color). Her hair is normally long and wavy, but is fixed to a ponytail whenever she eats ramen. She has a tendency to wear her school uniform even when it is not a school day. In the live action drama, Koizumi-san is much taller and has long dark hair. As a recent transfer student, Koizumi-san has always been shrouded in mystery among her classmates. Nothing much is known about Koizumi-san, and even her first name is never mentioned. Nevertheless, her beauty has made her very popular among boys. It was her classmate Yuu who discovered Koizumi-san's fascination with ramen. Koizumi-san would go to any length to discover new ramen dishes around Japan, even if it means climbing a mountain or failing a school test. The stigma that attaches to girls who visit Japanese ramen shops alone simply does not bother Koizumi-san in the slightest - eating ramen is the ultimate source of happiness for her. She is generally quiet and reserved. Although Koizumi-san has a penchant for ramen, she prefers to eat by herself, much to the chagrin of Yuu, who constantly begs her to eat together. Koizumi-san often carries with her a dull, emotionless demeanor, but upon eating ramen, a cheerful and satisfied expression will often light up on her face. Being so fixated on ramen, Koizumi-san has little interest in anything else, including other hobbies and personal relationships (she is, however, fluent in German). While she is constantly hit on by men, she brushes them off swiftly with a simple "No, thank you." Her manner of speech is generally polite and straight to the point, but whenever the subject of ramen comes up, she will speak at great lengths about it. And if an unrelated conversation heads in a direction that might involve ramen, Koizumi-san will interject almost immediately with a ramen-related fact. According to the Volume 1 omake, Koizumi-san is most likely to carry the following in her schoolbag: a scrunchie, a book (usually one that describes the wait-time to get in a ramen shop), wet tissues, breath fresheners (used whenever she adds garlic or onions to her ramen), and a hand towel. In addition, she also uses a smartphone to look up ramen-related news and events, and to check the latest trends in specialty ramen menus. Despite her love for ramen, Koizumi-san is unable to successfully make any herself, and often has to rely on others to cook even instant ramen for her.